October 22, 2013 6:02pm EDTOctober 22, 2013 5:49pm EDTThe NCAA decided it smelled something fishy with Frank Haith, suspending him five games. For the Missouri coach and the school, there was no need to fight the man, given the lenient punishment.

There is not much Frank Haith can say. Missouri is standing behind him as its basketball coach, and Mizzou is a member in good standing of the NCAA and would very much like to remain such, and so it is best to go quietly toward his gentle punishment.

That penalty Haith received from the NCAA for his conduct while coach of the Miami Hurricanes can be read as being greater than what Jim Calhoun faced at Connecticut, or lesser than what Bruce Pearl dealt with at Tennessee. In the end, though, his suspension for five regular-season games against opponents that aren’t particularly imposing ought not to damage Haith’s career or the current Tigers squad.

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If he were to appeal his penalty, there are three possible results, and only one of them would be positive for him. He could lose and have the penalty applied later this season, perhaps when Mizzou faces road games at Arkansas, Florida and Ole Miss and a home contest with Kentucky in late January/early February. He could lose and have the penalty applied next season, which means this whole deal drags on another 14 months, which would mean he’d have been living with it for more than four years.

During his suspension, Haith can’t be in the arena where the games are played. He can’t have any contact with Missouri coaches or basketball players from 12:01 a.m. Nov. 8, the day the Tigers open with Southeastern Louisiana, until 11:59 on the night of the IUPUI game.

Choosing not to appeal means it ends late in the evening of Nov. 25. The buzzer will sound at Mizzou Arena to end the Tigers’ game against IUPUI, and in doing so will signal the end of Haith’s involvement with anything related to his tenure at Miami.

Haith was able to issue a release through the Missouri athletic department, though, and makes it clear he does not agree with the NCAA infractions committee’s conclusions:

"While I strongly disagree with today’s report, and the inference on how the program was run at the University of Miami, as head basketball coach during that period, I accept responsibility for all actions in and around that program. This has been an excruciating ordeal for my family. An appeal, which would likely drag further into the season, would only prolong what has already been a lengthy and trying period of time for our student-athletes, the University of Missouri and our fans, and it’s time for closure.”

There is little doubt Haith made mistakes in relation to his time at Miami. At the very least, he should have known to be consistent with his version of events when facing NCAA investigators, whatever approach they took with him during interviews.

In its report, the infractions committee concluded Haith’s final version of events was “not persuasive.”

Here’s what’s really not persuasive, though. If the infractions committee truly had confidence Haith had been involved in violations along with his assistant coaches, and in the investigation that turned up these allegations, why did Haith receive such a small penalty and the assistant cited at the core of the central incident nothing at all?

At Tennessee, Bruce Pearl and each of his three assistants received show-cause penalties that included significant recruiting sanctions. Pearl hasn’t coached since.

“It was difficult for the committee and even the enforcement staff to know what was going on with the basketball program, given all the conflicting information,” said Conference USA commissioner Britton Banowsky, the chair of the infractions committee that heard the Miami case. Yes, he said that, before adding ultimately Haith had a responsibility to encourage compliance and that the committee was able to determine “he did not meet that responsibility.”

Haith will continue as Missouri’s coach, missing those five games to start this season. In announcing support for him through a university release, both chancellor Brady Deaton and senior associate AD for compliance Mary Austin noted Haith could have appealed if he wished.

“We are extremely excited about the direction of our program and look forward to his continued leadership for our young men,” athletic director Mike Alden said. “I’m proud to have Frank Haith as our men’s basketball coach.”